Forever and a Day
by Lady Selenity
Summary: She picked him, chose him, loves him, but what happens after forever? A Mer/Mark medical story Sequel to Pick, Choose, Love
1. Prologue

Forever and a Day  


Warnings: Not much bad happens in this chapter... Amazing... Oh, established Mark/Mer overall, just Cristina and Mer friendship in this chappie

Disclaimer: If I owned Grey's Anatomy, Derek would have died a horrible death. So do I own it? Nope.

Summary: She picked him, chose him, and now loves him, but what happens after the happily ever after? established Mark/Mer

Notes: Alright people, here is the sequal to **_Pick, Choose and Love_**. I know people want me to update _**Buried**_, but erm... I haven't watched SN in like 4 months, so no inspiration there. This is going to be short chapters, but a long story over all. And there is a plot, but I want to keep you all guessing. And in honesty, I could attack Derek and Lizzie Grey, very easily... So everyone, do you want Lizzie Grey to be 'included' in the love? Would lead to much Derek-bashing... (open to all ideas) Oh! Guess what's 'wrong' with Meredith. I like the last part, kinda helps explain more...  


Dedicated to: _all the reviewers of the_ _**Pick, Choose and Love**_ Series. _You guys made me want to write a sequal, and well, some plot bunnies just suck because they won't let you study._

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Meredith was living the fairytale ending of her life. She was doing well in her internship, she was in love with a great man who loved her back, and she was surrounded by her best friends. But she should have known that something would have screwed that perfect ending over because nothing can stay perfect forever.

So, when Meredith looked at the test and saw what was displayed on it, she knew it had been a long time coming. Still, she broke down in tears and reached unseeing towards the phone. She dialed the number that she knewn by heart, allowing her sobs to subside enough so that she could talk properly.

A cranky voice answered with an explictive and Meredith blurted out, "I need you to be my person now. I need a person. And you're my person."

The voice was quiet for a moment, murmered something into the phone and hung up. But Meredith wasn't worried, she knew that her person would be here soon.

Because that's what someone's person did.

_.Forever.and.a.Day._

When Meredith opened the door at midnight, she knew it would be Cristina at the other side. She knew because Cristina was her person. "What happened?" Cristina asked with not-really worry in her voice.

Meredith handed her the test, and Cristing tore it from Meredith's hand and skimmed it. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Cristina stared at Meredith, at the test, back at Meredith, and at the test. "Are you...?" she trailed off. 

"Yeah," Meredith sighed.

"Will you...?" Cristina continued.

"Yeah," Meredith nodded.

Cristina paused, "Telling...?"

Meredith took a deep breath before shaking her head, "No."

Cristina stared at her person, suprised but unwilling to put it into words. And Meredith got that look in her eyes meaning that she needed to cry. Cristina rolled her eyes and opened her arms, "If you need to cry, you have ten minutes."

Meredith practically threw herself at Cristina sobbing in her arms. "I can't do this. I might not make, if you know..."

Cristina placed her head on top of Meredith's, "I know." She repeated that quietly, allowing a single tear to be shed, "I know."

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That's just a preview of what is to come... Off to study for finals now! 


	2. Her First Mistake

Forever and a Day

Warnings: Established Mer/Mark with some hinting at sex

Disclaimer: If I did own Grey's Anatomy, Mark would be with BIG Grey and not her little sister.

Summary: She picked him, chose him, loves him, but what happens after forever? A Mer/Mark medical story [Sequel to Pick, Choose, Love]

Notes: I suck. I know. Hate me, but hate college more (and subsequently, my mother). Also, about Mer, everyone is all 'She's Preggers!', but she's not. Just to ruin your fun. Expect updates bi monthly. I hate college, with a loathing passion of a million flames. Also, writing style changed. Sorry kiddos.  


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**Her First Mistake**

_Three Months Previous_

Meredith Grey awoke to the feeling of fingers reverently touching her skin. The movement was smooth and feather light as it ran up and down her spinal cord, making her shiver. Smiling into her pillow, Meredith relaxed and allowed the feeling to continue, secure in the knowledge of who it was. Because no one touched her like he did.

The fingers went up and down, tracing the contours of her body. Words were traced into her skin, leaving goose bumps in their wake; words of love, futures they could have, and an eternity he had etched in his mind. Meredith Grey lay in her bed, wearing nothing, and felt the words being traced into her skin, believing, for maybe the first time in her life, in forever. In her happily ever after. Their happy ending.

Lips replaced the fingers, sucking, nibbling and worshiping her skin. No longer could she play sleeping, allowing a moan to escape her throat and echoing in the silence of the room. The feeling left her skin, and she felt at loss of the intimacy before rolling over. Sleepily, she smiled at him, his cheeky grin making her own lips stretch as well.

"Morning," she whispered, taking in the sight of her boyfriend.

He never looked anything but immaculate. His hair was handsomely peppered with grey, with a lean body that was solid muscle and handsome as he shifted to be directly over her comfortably. He was her perfect counterpart, her dark and twisty opposite who made her light, her forever.

He was Mark Sloan.

"Good morning, you mean," he beamed roguishly, leaning down to kiss her.

She knew she looked like crap, hair everywhere, half awake and with morning breath to boot, but he made her feel beautiful, and if he could take her morning breath, than she was more than willing to kidd him. She pulled up; kissing him with everything she had, reminding him that she loved him with every ounce of emotion in her body. That she was his and he was hers.

He forcibly reminded her that his feelings were right where hers were. He pushed back on the bed, comfortably laying some of his weight on her. Their tongues danced the ancient dance, and bodies melted together before they separate for air.

"Good morning indeed," Meredith muttered, tracing Mark's cheekbone.

He leaned down for another kiss before his pager went off. Grapping the device as he pulled back, Mark glanced at the number before cursing. "I have to run," he sighed, placing one more kiss on her lips, lingering as long as he could.

She nodded, knowing that their lives were complicated and time limited because they were doctors, and people depended on their response time. She couldn't help but feel his loss intimately when she watched him leave.

But she was Meredith Grey. She had dealt with her busy mother, an absentee father, and Derek Shepherd.

Pulling herself from her bed, and her sheets that smelt like Mark, she walked into the bathroom, as naked as the day she was born. She stumbled over a pair of scrubs on the floor, falling into the sink area. She cursed before standing up, and Meredith caught sight of her herself in the mirror.

A vivid bruise was already forming on her shoulder, darkly contrasting her pale skin. Running her fingers over the discoloration, she winced at the throb of pain it gave. It was ugly, but she needed to shower. "Well, that's ugly," she said, or at least, she tried to.

Her voice broke in the middle of her sentence, turning breathy, different from her usually strong tone. It was different from when she had simply been speaking moments beforehand. Placing a hand on her throat, Meredith opened her mouth and stated, "Hello."

The tone and voice range was back to normal, and Meredith smiled at herself in the mirror. It was all normal; just sleep wearing on her in different ways. It was always like that, even though she had had a sore throat on and off for the past few months. It must be some lingering infection in her system from some variation of a cold.

Rolling her eyes, she walked to the shower, letting the steam from the water settle her throat, soothing the irritation instantly. Her mind flew away from the here and now, thinking about her upcoming surgeries and her days ahead. She ignored her throat, and all the insinuations that could come from it.

That was her first mistake.


	3. Her Second Mistake

Forever and a Day

Warnings: Established Mer/Mark

Disclaimer: If I did own Grey's Anatomy, Mark would be with BIG Grey and not her little sister.

Summary: She picked him, chose him, loves him, but what happens after forever? A Mer/Mark medical story [Sequel to Pick, Choose, Love]

Notes: It took me less than almost two years to update with chapter two. Points to me! Expect short, quick updates. Because this story is so much fun.

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Never wanted this, never want to see you hurt  
Every little bump in the road I tried to swerve  
People are people and sometimes it doesn't work out  
Nothing we say is gonna save us from the fall out

Taylor Swift, _Breathe

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**Her Second Mistake**

_Two weeks later_

Her second mistake was misdiagnosing herself.

"Come on," Meredith whined as loud as she could, running her fingers down the column of her throat. It throbbed like it was on fire, pounding to a tattoo into her skin. She couldn't get it to cool, no matter how much she drank, or ice she chewed on. Her throat still screamed in pain.

She had been able to get away with talking less, making her group of interns work for her as she charted and watched attentively to their every movement. Some people had noticed, and reluctantly she spoke, saying she had a cold. That bone had thrown off some, but Mark worried.

He had taken her temperature, shoved cough medicine down her throat, bought her cough drops, and made her soup and rest every moment they were together. This softer, mother-hen side of Mark made her laugh, as well as loosen the grip her dark and twisty side had. It made her want to be better, if not for herself, just for Mark.

She made Mark think it was a game, her silence. He enjoyed making her squeak, laugh or any noise he could elect from her throat. He worked, long and hard, for every noise she made. Meredith thought that his smile was worth every extra minute of pain the sound caused.

But she worried, when the lights were out and he was snoring lightly beside her, an arm around her waist and firmly placed against the hard planes of his more masculine body. She worried that this wasn't just some cold (it had lasted far too long), and that it was something worse.

After all, she worked in a _hospital_, for God's sake. She drank tequila and had the worst health habits. Ever. And this wasn't something that was disappearing. It was getting worse.

So, Meredith Grey turned to her person, her non-judging breakfast club member. She turned to Cristina Yang.

Now, if only she could get Cristina to _help_ her.

"It's just some cold," Cristina brushed her off, _again_. The Asian woman reached to grab the medical chart that her friend was holding hostage, just as the blond jerked it closer to her chest.

"No Cristina," Meredith argued, feeling her throat burn again. She blinked back tears at the fierce flash of pain. It was getting _worse_, and the one person she wanted to help her _wouldn't_. "It's not just a cold. I lied. Because that's what I do when I get hurt, I lie and hide and hope it'll all get better."

Rubbing her throat unconsciously, she didn't notice as Cristina's eyes tracked the movement, intent on how long and how hard her friend was massaging the skin over her vocal cords. "It's getting worse. I feel like my throat is just throbbing every time I make a noise."

"How long?" Cristina asked.

"Um," Meredith calculated in her head. "About seven or so months. It wasn't bad, my voice would just squeak every once in a while, or get a little breathy, but now…." She shrugged. "It's worse."

Cristina eyed her friend – her best friend if she'd ever admit it – before nodding. "Okay, I'll do a strep test, though I doubt it. Severely. Strep wouldn't last this long and your glands would be swollen."

"Seriously?" Meredith nearly squealed.

Cristina rolled her eyes, grasping the chart that Meredith had in her hands. Before pulling it away, she made eye contact with the blond. "Seriously."

It wasn't like the symptoms were that serious, anyways.


	4. Because He Loved Her

Forever and a Day

Warnings: Established Mer/Mark

Disclaimer: If I did own Grey's Anatomy, Mark would be with BIG Grey and not her little sister.

Summary: She picked him, chose him, loves him, but what happens after forever? A Mer/Mark medical story [Sequel to Pick, Choose, Love]

Notes: Woo! Updated again. With more Mark and Cristina because who doesn't love the person and the boyfriend? =]

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I built myself a castle on the beach  
Watching as it slid into the sea

A Fine Frenzy,_ Last of Days_

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**Because He Loved Her**

"It's not strep."

Meredith's head, which had been lying on the blessedly cool metal bed frame in the on call room, swung upwards in surprise. "What?" she screeched.

Or at least, she tried to.

Her voice cracked, again, in the middle. Meredith's hand flung to her throat, rubbing in an attempt to subdue the fire that pained her almost every day now. She couldn't ice it, she couldn't sooth it, she couldn't do a damn thing. And it was ticking Meredith off.

Maybe this time it would work, maybe this time it would stop. Maybe it would all be back to the way it had been before when she had had her Happily Ever After. Everything had been perfect, she and Mark had been perfect, and her life had been perfect.

But damnit, she was realizing that Happily Ever After wasn't the end of a story – that forever was shorter than anyone really knew.

"It isn't strep," Cristina repeated, leaning in the doorway, staring at Meredith's pathetic attempts to make her feel better.

Wearily, the intern rubbed her eyes. Cristina had run every test she knew, trying to find out what the hell was going on. Every test she did came back normal. Every. Damn. Test.

It was like Meredith was making up the symptoms, and while Cristina knew Meredith was a little messed up (okay, a lot messed up), she didn't fake illnesses for attention. Cristina knew she didn't because she had McSteamy who was making her better and normal and not all dark and twisty. This wasn't something Meredith, better or not, would do.

She hated being on the other side of the stethoscope, like every doctor did. Because it meant letting someone else handle their life, trusting someone else to cut them open correctly. And Meredith, like Cristina, wasn't a trusting person. So, faking the symptoms wasn't an option.

But not recognizing all the symptoms was.

They were doctors; they worked in hospitals with sick people all day long. They were bound to catch something every once in a while, no matter how much Airborne they downed or how well they washed their hands it was inevitable, they were bound to get something.

Cristina just hoped what Meredith had wasn't fatal.

"What exactly have been your symptoms, Meredith," Cristina stated. "And I want every little detail."

She was Cristina Yang, and she would be damned if some little disease would beat her and take her person.

Mark&Meredith._McSteamy&theIntern_.TheDirtyMistressClub

Mark ran a hand through his hair. Where _was_ Meredith? They had a lunch date (like always), and she was late. She was usually popped up behind him, with that bright smile on her lips and a laugh ready to be imparted.

She was usually here. Ready for him and their small dates, ready for their routine, ready for their forever. Her being sick usually didn't throw them off too badly, after all, she had had that cold a few months ago and she had still been his Grey even with too bright eyes and the sniffles.

Actually, he remembered, she was adorable sick.

He ran a hand through his hair again, frustrated and worried. She was sick. What if she had passed out? What if it was worse than she was willing to tell him? He frowned at his last thought. That would be classic Meredith Grey, trying to keep the symptoms hidden because she didn't want to worry him, worry anyone really.

Not for the first time, he cursed Ellis Grey for giving Meredith the complex that left her thinking she wasn't good enough and that she should keep everything and anything to herself. He had fought against her low self-esteem issues, and this time it would get her sicker.

Giving up his spot in the Lobby (where he and Meredith _always_ met), he tugged off his leather jacket after pushing the elevator button. He was going to find her and ask what the hell was going on.

Because he was the boyfriend, and the boyfriend (while legally had no rights) deserved to know. Especially if the boyfriend was a world class doctor – a plastic surgeon but still a doctor – and he deserved at least to know what his girlfriend had.

Even if his girlfriend was as closed off as Meredith Grey, he deserved to know what the hell was going on.

And even if he wasn't Mark Sloan, world-reknown plastic surgeon, he deserved to know. Because he loved her.


End file.
